Professor Michael Hay
Former Staff
Michael G Hay, 1950-2020 (Governor 1994-2014)
Professor Michael Hay was Emeritus Professor of Management Practice in Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. He was born in South Africa in 1950. He was educated there till he was eleven. It has to be said that his school days in South Africa were not the happiest of his life, but the experience of growing up on a farm near Johannesburg gave him a love of the country that never left him. He flourished on return to England aged 11, first at a small prep school, Hawkhurst Court, and then at Tonbridge School. He went on to thrive in the dynamic and challenging atmosphere of the University of York in the 1970s, completing both an MPhil and DPhil there, before moving into academic publishing and to Oxford, first with OUP and then with Blackwell Publishing in the 1980s.
The late 1980s marked a career switch after he joined London Business School’s Sloan Programme, a kind of accelerated one year MBA for those in their late 30s. Most unusually, LBS then offered him a full-time role on its faculty, where he not only taught but carried out a number of different roles, for which he continues to be remembered warmly by hundreds of students and staff. He held a variety of positions including: Director of the Foundation of Entrepreneurial Management, Associate Dean of the Sloan Masters Programme, Dean of Executive Education, and he was an Academic Director of the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He was also Deputy Dean and Secretary of the School for five years from 2001-6.
London Business School colleagues write that Michael personified the School’s vision to have a profound impact on the way the world does business and the way business impacts the world. His important legacy includes co-founding the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and most recently his work on the Business Bridge Initiative in South Africa, developing a model to deliver high-quality business education at low cost on a mass scale.
Mike Stanfield, former Chair of Governors writes: Michael was a Governor at Teddies for 20 years bringing an interesting and valuable perspective to the issues of running a large independent school, drawing on his wide educational and business knowledge. He chaired the Governors’ finance committee from 2007 until 2011 when he stood down to reduce his commitments. However he remained a Governor and was very much involved in the School’s development. He was much liked by his colleagues and his views greatly respected. A sad loss for the Board of Governors.
He thoroughly enjoyed his role as a governor of Teddies, forming a deep affection for the School. As a neighbour as well as a governor, he loved the school grounds, and his family is grateful that he was able to walk there particularly after he was struck down with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) in 2014. He died on 14th December 2020.
Michael Hay – born 1950, died December 14th 2020.
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